Well if your talking about me, Cornell got valuable information from that picture, (the tag) until I caught that fish, I didn't even know the sturgeon regulations, now I do... fish was held under water til my buddy had the camera ready.. it was out of the water no longer than 40 seconds, maybe only 25 seconds. Didn't hold it verticle and never touched the gills... I practice catch and release for steelhead 8 months of the year. DEC says its illegal and cornell wants pics, its a double standard that needs to be cleared up.
It's really not a double standard..... As the Oneida lake association has absolutely no bearing on anything in regards to the law .... In my HOP they mean a photo without removing it from the water... I think the Dec would also be fine with that... As much as those fish got beat on this spring while spawning ... I think you are likley to see a clarification in this the law.
Oh I know the law is clear, cornell doesn't write the law... If I got a ticket, so be it, until that day I had never read the sturgeon rules.. I caught a large fish I was proud of and I was getting a picture, case closed, did I stay and target more, did I ever go back there after I found them? NO!!! I left them alone to do there pre spawn deep staging thing.. so I didn't beat on them or anyone I know.
gotta admit though if they were NOT illegal to catch or endangered we would all fish for them hardcore!
Can't wait til Cornell sees that there established and successful... It will be a great sportfish too target some day, but in New York things usually drag on for decades before something is changed.... If i'm not mistakin the In fisherman had a show last year I watched with snow on the ground in spring, they were reeling in one after anther in a river system in Wisconsin during the pre spawn.
oh boyyyyyy bet i make everyone mad first nothing agaist anyone but the oneida lake asst isn't the new york DEC! second it says all fish are to be released immediately !!!! wait nope ...i just double checked it doesn't say immediatly after a picture!...that being said i could care less myself .....and this is why they are a stocked fish if the state was that worried about a picture then they shoulda stocked a few 1000 more! number two who the heck will ever know!!!! number 3 this thread is bait and anyone that cares about it and fights is the fish that got caught ..... who wants to order one of my bumper stickers .....sturgeon the other white meat ! ....can we talk about oh kings don't hit in the river or is that saved for augest??
The sad thing is after dealing with you and having the utmost respect for you..... Is that I can decipher your post now... It took about 10 yes but I am now trapper fluent..